Hapoel Tel Aviv kept their EuroLeague dreams alive with a thrilling 76-69 victory over Real Madrid in Game 3 of the quarterfinals on Tuesday night. The win, fueled by a stellar performance from Elijah Bryant, cut Real's series lead to 2-1 and sets up a must-watch Game 4 on Thursday night in Bulgaria.
From the opening tip, it was clear this would be a battle. Real Madrid jumped out to an early lead, with Facundo Campazzo and Gabriel Deck running the show. But Hapoel refused to back down. Chris Jones and Elijah Bryant chipped away at the deficit, bringing the score to 36-34 by halftime. The second half was all about grit and adjustments. Vasilije Micic started to find his rhythm for Hapoel, while Trey Lyles kept Real in the hunt. But it was Antonio Blakeney and Dan Oturu who stepped up when it mattered most, helping coach Dimitrios Itoudis's squad take the lead for good. From there, Hapoel kept their foot on the gas, closing out the game with poise and energy.
Bryant and Jones each poured in 19 points to lead the Reds, with Micic adding 13. For Real Madrid, Lyles scored 14, Deck added 11, and Campazzo chipped in 10. It was a complete team effort from Hapoel, who won the rebounding battle and held Real to just 69 points—a testament to their playoff-level defense.
After the game, coach Itoudis praised his team's resilience. "It was a do-or-die situation for us against a great team. Even when we were down by 10, we found the right chemistry and dug deep into our bench. Keeping Real Madrid at 69 points says a lot about our defense. We played like a playoff team."
Bryant, who was also honored with a spot on the EuroLeague Team of the Season, echoed that sentiment: "It's almost impossible to beat one of the top teams in the competition five straight times, but we came close. Congrats to Hapoel, and now we move on to try and win the series in four games." The message was clear: Hapoel is not going down without a fight.
In other Israeli league action, Ironi Ness Ziona edged out Hapoel Holon 104-98, led by Desi Rodriguez, Bryce Brown, and Marques Bolden. But all eyes are now on Thursday's Game 4, where Hapoel Tel Aviv will look to even the series and keep their EuroLeague season alive. For fans, this is the kind of playoff drama that makes basketball unforgettable.